A Series of Beginnings
by Daughter of Romanov
Summary: Attina, Alana, Aquata, Adella, Arista, and Andrina begin a new chapter of their lives, following the sudden marriage of their baby sister.
1. Goodbye, Little Sister

**Goodbye, Little Sister**

(Andrina POV)

My sister is gone.

My sister is gone.

My baby sister, Ariel, waved us all goodbye on a ship with her new husband this afternoon. And while we were caught up in all of the merriness and our delight at seeing little Ariel again, somehow we had missed one, huge, life-changing detail.

Our baby sister was gone.

My five elder sisters and I all went into our room together, and sat down in our beds, gazing at where Ariel ought to be sitting. Perhaps I had already been a-little-worried-but-not-really-worried-because-it-doesn't-really-bother-me-much-anyways-I-was-just-wondering about Alana leaving to go live with Academicus after their wedding. And perhaps there had been a few quiet conversations between Adella and me about how odd it would be with Alana missing from her bed. Suddenly, there was another emptiness that had come without any warning. Ariel had left in a heartbeat, not a moment to think or worry or anything. All that she left behind was a gaping hole in our lives, and an empty bed in the corner of our room. Soon, only Arista would remain on the left side of our room, with the other two beds alongside her abandoned.

We were all growing up and moving on with our lives much too fast for my liking. It had only been a year since we had gotten music back. We had had barely any time to enjoy it together. Now, when would we see Ariel again? Even Alana wouldn't be too far away, we would still see her almost every day. And we _knew_ Academicus, we had been given time to make sure he was good enough for our sister. We had no idea who this "Prince Eric" was! A glimpse of a human high up on a ship was nothing! He hadn't passed any of our tests to see if he would fit into our close-knit family. If this was a test, he had failed miserably. He had taken our baby sister away from us without a second thought. Didn't he realise that his teenage bride had six elder sisters that had gone out of their minds with worry over the last three days not knowing if their little sister was even alive?

Those three days had been torture. Ariel and her fish friend, Flouder, had simply vanished. She had always gone on crazy death-defying adventures… we had though that finally she had not been able to defy death. She was gone, and even though the whole ocean was scoured for her, no one could find any trace of where she had gone. And then, Daddy had come home, looking exhausted and dishevelled and told us what had happened.

_The palace was so quiet, that the whispers of a mysterious horrible battle last night sounded more like shouts. _

_Sebastian! _

"_Sebastian, where's Daddy?" Aquata demanded. _

"_He's sleeping. He only just got in," Sebastian said tiredly, before quickly adding, "don't disturb him, girls. He has enough on his mind."_

"_Of course," Attina replied before any of us had a chance to protest. After Sebastian had swum out of earshot, we argued against Attina's judgement. _

"_We have to go see him!" Alana insisted, "I heard they found Ariel!"_

"_I heard that the sea witch challenged Daddy to a great awful battle!" Aquata exclaimed.  
"I heard that there were two huge armies, and Daddy lead them into war!" Adella cried. _

"_Oh, we have to go see him!" I pleaded, "We have to find out what happened!" _

"_He must already have enough on his mind," Attina insisted, ever the voice of reason. _

"_I just want to look him. It won't bother him," Arista said softly, with her child-like innocence. We all agreed that just seeing Daddy would be enough, just to know that he was whole and okay. We snuck down to his wing of the palace together, and peered into his room. _

_Daddy had aged ten years overnight; he looked exhausted as he lay on the bed, breathing in and out heavily. He wasn't asleep yet, just resting, his eyes locked on the ceiling. We watched him for a moment, before Attina ushered us from the room. We only made it out into the corridor before Aquata tripped over Adella and the two fell with a loud cry. _

"_Who's there?" _

_None of us moved, or even breathed, frozen by the lack of authority in Daddy's voice. He sounded so tired and defeated, as though the whole ocean had just collapsed onto his shoulders. _

"_Sebastian?" he sounded more hopeful, but still so drained. What had happened? Attina finally was brave enough to lead us into Daddy's room, looking bashful and ashamed. _

"_Oh, Daddy, we're so sorry for disturbing you. We just wanted to see if you came in alright," Attina apologised hurriedly. Daddy did not reply, he just looked at us with his sleepy eyes and then ushered us to come and sit with him on the bed. _

"_Oh, my girls," he sighed, "what difficult times we live in."_

"_Yes, Daddy," Attina answered for us. The other five of us nodded in agreement, though we weren't sure what he meant. _

"_Attina… Alana… Aquata… Adella… Arista… Andrina… and our little baby Ariel," Daddy hesitated, "oh, my girls! Our little Ariel isn't coming home."_

"_Well, Daddy we don't know that!" Alana insisted. _

_Daddy was silent for a moment, "I know it, for certain. I saw her."_

_The horrified silence that followed cut into me like a knife. Ariel wasn't coming home. And even Daddy's explanation of the Prince and the Sea Witch and the battle could not tear the knife out of my heart- it only twisted it around and around, for Ariel could not take an hour out of her life to talk to her sisters herself. _

And then, a few days later, we went to see the wedding of our baby sister to a stranger. How could Ariel do this to us, to her very own family? The palace was still aflutter with preparations for Alana's wedding to Academicus, which would be taking place at the beginning of the next month. Honestly, Daddy had been protective enough of Alana when Academicus proposed to her. Ariel was just a baby, our littlest one! Oh, Ariel, why couldn't you see how much it killed Daddy to let you go? Why couldn't you have waited just a little while longer, instead of running off with your human prince that very instant?

I sighed, and looked at each of my silent sisters, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Adella reached over and gripped my hand, "_Oh, the waves roll low, and the waves roll high…_"

"_And so it goes,_" I sung back, intertwining my fingers in hers.

"_Under the bright blue endless sky,_" Aquata chimed in, resting her head on her folded arms and looking over to us.

"_Waves try to measure_," Arista added, giving her hair one final stroke with the red brush.

"_The days that we treasure_," Alana hugged her tail to her chest, biting her bottom lip.

"_Wave hello_…" Attina did not finish her line, and sighed, closing her eyes.

"_And wave goodbye,"_ we all finished the bittersweet song together, and settled back into our beds. I snuggled down under my pink blanket in my shell bed, and rolled onto my side. I don't know how long I tried to fall asleep for, but it didn't work. Oh, Ariel. Why did you have to wave goodbye? I got up, and sat by our window, looking out at the sea. My thoughts were tangled in my head, much too messy to get any sleep.

"Drina?"

I looked up as Adella sat down beside me, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, Della?" I whispered back.

"You scared for her too?" Adella asked, although it wasn't really a question since we both knew the answer. I rest my head on her shoulder with a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, "You think she made a mistake?"

Adella hesitated, "I don't know enough to think anything about it. That's the worst part."

We sat together in silence for a while, as our sisters slept. Where was Ariel sleeping tonight? Certainly not here with us, tucked up in her bed like she was meant to be. I looked at her bed, and was overwhelmed with the emptiness of it all.

I wanted to feel something. I wanted to hate her, feel fury burn up inside of me, and then I wanted to mourn her, cry for her, wish she was coming home. I just felt an abyss of emptiness inside of me, growing and consuming me.

"Come on," we swam back over to our beds together, and Adella collected my blanket and pillow, and tossed it into her shell. We both curled up inside of her shell bed, holding onto each other tightly, just as tightly as we ought to be holding onto Ariel and telling her how much we missed her.

"Promise me you won't leave too," Adella whispered. It dawned on me that I was the next youngest, I was the little one now. I was now the new bookend holding up the other end of us girls, since Ariel was Poseidon-knows-where.

"I promise. I'll be a thorn in your side until we die," I tried to joke. Adella's laugh caught in her throat and sounded more like a sob instead.

"Thank you, Drina," Adella whispered, kissing my cheek.


	2. A Most Royal Mer-Wedding

**A Most Royal Mer-Wedding**

(Alana POV)

I woke up, filled with giddiness and nervousness. Today, it was finally my wedding day. My wedding day! Certainly, the most special day in any girl's life. Not to mention, it was a royal wedding, and the first mer-wedding of King Triton's princesses. A most special event indeed. And it was Academicus, handsome, sweet, smart, charming, loving, devoted Academicus. There was no one else in the world that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I hugged myself happily with a giggle. Suddenly, the face of my eldest sister appeared above me.

"Morning," Attina smiled.

"Good morning," I sighed dreamily, "isn't it the most beautiful day?"

Attina laughed, "You ready to go, Lana?"

"I was born ready," I replied, grinning from ear to ear. We all swam together to our dressing room, and begun preparing ourselves for the wedding. My sisters strung pearls around my neck, arms, and tail, as I carefully applied my make-up. Then, they begun dressing themselves, all trying to ignore the absence we all felt. Ariel's vanity table still had strings of pearls, a sash, and a gold headband, but not princess bridesmaid to wear it. I twisted my fingers through the pearls and wondered if Ariel realised that today she was missing my wedding. Had she counted down the days like we had? Did she know it was today, or had she already forgotten about all of us? She certainly didn't seem like she thought much about us the last time that she saw us, without even a wave goodbye. She was missing it, she wasn't here giggling, applying make-up and pearls.

"Alana?"

I looked up at my remaining sisters, and smiled fondly at them. They all looked so different, and yet so similar with their identically strung pearls, sashes and royal orders, and their hair tied up in low chignon with a gold headband resting on their foreheads.

"Beautiful," I remarked with a smile.

"Come on, we need to get the flowers," Aquata replied, businesslike as ever, "are you coming, Alana?"

"Oh, I think I'll stay here for a moment to think," I sighed, and picked up the picture of Academicus from my vanity. Attina ushered my giggling little sisters from the room, and I was alone. I stroked his cheek in the painting, looked into his dark flashing eyes and couldn't help but to fall just a little bit more in love with him.

"Alana?"

I looked up to see Daddy at the door, carrying a large box. I set down the picture as he swam over to him.

"What do you think, Daddy?" I asked, twirling around for him.

"You look beautiful, Alana," Daddy kissed both my cheeks.

"What do you have there?" I asked, indicating to his box. He opened it without a word, to show me the most magnificent set of jewellery I had ever seen. In the centre of the large gold shimmering tiara, the most regal and beautiful crown I had ever seen. Except, I was certain that I had seen something like it before, in a portrait somewhere of someone beautiful long ago. It was in a box with two gold seashell earrings, with a matching gold and pearl brooch and bracelets, all resting on a bed of pearl strings. There was an inscription on the lid of the box:

_The Princesses of North Atlantica Parure_

_With Fondest Affection, _

_HIH, the Emperor Marine_

"It belonged to my mother," Daddy said quietly, "I hoped you might like to wear it today."

"Oh, Daddy, it's beautiful," I embraced him tightly, "oh, I'd love to wear it."

"Oh, good, good," Daddy sounded relieved, and kissed me again, "she would have loved to be here. She always loved weddings."

"You never talked about your mother," I remarked lightly, removing the little tiara and sea daisies from my hair.

"Well, she passed away before you were born," Daddy said softly, "She would have loved you girls. Especially you, Lanie. You remind me of her so very much."

Daddy set the tiara onto my head, and brushed a flyaway hair from my face. It was heavy on my head, the heaviest tiara I had ever worn. I took a moment to adjust to its weight, and smiled up at Daddy.

"How does it look?" I asked nervously.

"Beautiful," he kissed my forehead. At that moment, my sisters all came back into the room, with bouquets of flowers.

"Oh! You changed tiaras!" Arista exclaimed.

"It was our grandmother's," I said, touching it tentatively. We all spent a couple of minutes gushing over the jewellery, as Attina pinned the tiara onto my hair, making sure it sat well. I changed my jewellery, and put on the parure set. There was something so mystical and regal about it, and I couldn't help but to shiver with pleasure as I saw my reflection. A real princess, certainly.

"It's time to go," Attina announced. We took one final look in the mirror before we all headed downstairs and piled into two separate carriages: one for my sisters and one for my father and me. I looked up at him, my big strong Daddy, the one who carried seven little girls around on his back, the greatest King in the entire ocean, the man who for the longest time I had loved more than any other merman in the whole sea. He seemed fixated on staring at some point off in the distance, as tears formed in his eyes.

"Daddy, don't cry," I whispered, and squeezed his hand tightly. He just nodded, and offered me a small tight smile.

"It just seems like yesterday you were just a little egg in the nursery," Daddy replied, his voice husky with tears, "you were so little when you first hatched, I could hold you in one hand."

We arrived at the service, trailing gracefully after my bridesmaids and Academicus's groomsmen, and I held onto his arm tightly. Our parents gave us to each other, and went down to sit with the bridesmaids and groomsmen. The officiator begun the bonding ceremony, as Academicus and I knelt facing each other. Our wrists were carefully bound together with kelp, criss-crossing over and around in the ceremonial style, up our arms and then around our torsos and down our tails. We were bound together, spiritually and physically. I twitched nervously, pressing my forehead against his. Academicus intertwined his fingers into mine, as the binding finally finished. The officiator recited from an old ancient text, words from a language that was long forgotten but the speech still meaningful. Then, he took the red vial and blessed the shimmering silver liquid in it before pouring it onto us, from our head and down around our bodies. The kelp suddenly felt fiery hot, while every think else the shimmering liquid touched felt like ice. The kelp dissolved into our skin, binding us together in the eyes of the sea. I looked up at Academicus with a smile.

Finally, we were married.

**A/N: And, as always, I encourage you to review and tell me what I should improve/anything confusing or that you want clarified/anything you would like included/anything in the world you would like to say. I'd love to hear from you!**


	3. The Empty Beds and Emptiness

**The Empty Beds and Emptiness**

(Aquata POV)

There were only five of us left in the room with seven seashell beds. We hadn't moved Ariel or Alana's beds out, they were a lingering reminder that we weren't all together, we were missing two sisters. Though, it would be worse if we moved them out, like we were forcing them out of our little sisterhood. It wouldn't look right without their beds here, even stranger than seeing their beds empty. I didn't even realise that I could miss my sisters so much. Growing up as the fourth out of seven sisters, I had always loved being alone and having my own life. But now, with them gone… I wanted things to go back to when we were all sleeping in the same room and all wishing we had our own rooms. There wouldn't be any more late night giggling or pillow fights. There was only time to grow up now. We weren't little girls anymore, we were almost all grown up, just needing to take the final leap off into adulthood.

Attina, the eldest, didn't seem interested in dating at all. She preferred to concentrate on government matters and her favourite charity project, a small budding school in one of the poorest regions of Atlantica. Certainly, Attina had the most pressure on her to find the most suitable husband, for he would be the next King Consort of Atlantica. Perhaps that was why she avoided the issue altogether. Perhaps it was just too much to deal with. Or maybe it was because she still felt so responsible for all of us, and didn't want to leave us for some merman while we were still here. Attina was like that, she had assumed the role of mother after our real mother died.

Alana was still away on her honeymoon, and when she came back she would be off in her own wing. We would still in the same castle at least, but she wouldn't be in the same room, or even the same tower. We had all been shocked that shy, quiet Academicus had been the first man to brave King Triton and ask for one of his daughter's hands in marriage, but he had done it, and successfully! Academicus worked in the palace treasury, so at least Alana would be here with us. It was hard enough missing Ariel. I couldn't imagine Alana being gone forever. Even though she drove me mad with her silly beauty treatments and constantly wanting to do makeovers, she was our Alana. She was knowledgeably, feminine, pretty Alana, my beloved older sister.

Adella was still as boy-crazy as ever and had spent so long dating boys on and off on a whim. The sons of rich businessmen, visiting nobility, local aristocracy… but none of them held her interest for very long. She was looking for something special, something that none of them had. Looking for something special, a merman who made her eyes glimmer like Alana's did whenever she talked about Academicus. She was so desperate to fall in love, so willing and impatient to find someone who was perfect in her eyes. There just didn't seem to be anyone for our Adella.

Arista, who was so sweet and gentle and endearing, had found love with Duke Leomaris. He was a giant, huge muscular merman with a glittering emerald green tail and long dark chocolate brown curls, and he made our little Arista look like a tiny doll next to him. He was without a doubt her perfect match: calm, patient, dependable, and so very protective of her. He would cup her sweet, pretty face in his huge hands and kiss her nose, as he slowly explained to her whatever she had been confused about. He seemed to be pleasantly amused by her crazy antics, doing his best to talk her out of the wilder ones but going along with most of them for fun. It was only a matter of time before he proposed to her: surely he would be able to calmly ask Daddy for Arista's hand without too much trouble.

Andrina broke up with her boyfriend, Paio, every other week, claiming she was done with mermen altogether and hated the entire gender, before making up with him and promising to spend forever together until their next fight. They were in one of their break-up periods at the moment, but it wouldn't be long before he came back around. Paio, with his bright yellow tail and bright gold eyes, was the son of a rich cutthroat Atlantican businessman, but didn't seem inclined to do anything but party and hang out with glamorous rich friends. No one was quite sure what to make of them, it was hard to tell if they really loved each other or not. When they were together, they were so very happy, but when they broke up they were both miserable.

And me? Well, I'm so busy with my sport and spending time with my friends and sisters… but well, there was this one boy, Seth. He didn't have any titles or even any money to his name for that matter, but he was special. He was a fin ball player on the Paficio Sharks, who and he had come to Atlantica for a couple of days to play against our team one year. There was just something in the way he had cheekily winked at me when the game ended, something captivating. That was almost three years ago, when he scored that final goal and won the match. He stayed in Atlantica for a couple of days after the match, and I guess I fell in love him. Well, I know I fell in love him, that I still loved him with every fibre of my being. I just try not to think about it. We sent messages to each other whenever we could, I would spend days waiting eagerly for his messages to come across the ocean to me. We could just talk and talk and never get bored of each other. I knew everything about him, how his mother was so sick, and his father had left before he hatched, and he worked two jobs in addition to playing for the Sharks to buy medicine for his mother, because Seth didn't believe in handouts. I knew that he hated coral blossom stew; he had a toy dolphin as a child named BeeBee, and that he had a birthmark the shape of a seashell behind his left ear. We talked about my father, my sisters, how Ariel had left us, how scared I was when she was gone, and how my mother had died, how much I hated growing up without music, our hopes, dreams, everything. Every year, we promised each other we were going to spend more time together. But we were both just too busy to move oceans to be together. It would only be one more year, every year. His messages are all sitting in a little box under my bed. I can't deal with it. I just can't think about Seth. He stopped sending me messages about a year ago, a couple of months after he left to go home from playing in Atlantica. It took so long for me to accept that Seth wasn't mine anymore.

Seth belonged to the Eighth Sea.

The owner of the kelp farm Seth worked at during the summer had made a contract with a Sea Witch and not followed through. She came to the farm destroyed everything and everyone. Black magic. No survivors. I didn't hear the news until a couple of months later, and honest to Poseidon, it broke me apart inside. Never again would I touch his dark skin, stroke his soft black hair, feel his bright red tail brush mine. He'd never kiss my neck again, tuck my hair behind my ear, and smile his little cheeky smile. Never would his deep husky voice whisper in my ear, teasing me and talking so softly about our plans for the future together. A summer wedding with flowers everywhere. Two daughters, named Athena and Lorelei. All that was gone now. He was just… gone. Vanished. How was I supposed to go on without him? I could put on a brave face all I liked; pretend like everything was fine, but what about inside, where I'm tearing apart and dying every second I'm away from him. How am I supposed to survive this? I tried not to think about him, keeping myself too busy to think about anything… but at night, when it was so quiet and lonely, he crept into my thoughts. I keep replaying the last time we were together in my head, over and over again, wishing I had done something different, wishing I had forced him to stay, so that he could be here with me instead of just gone.

_The station is crowded and noisy, with everyone saying their final goodbyes to their loved ones all at once. But for us, it's just Seth and me, laughing and trying to make the most of our last minutes together. _

"_What are you gonna do without me around, babe?" he teased me, "Sit up in your castle, braiding your hair…?"_

"_Oh, shut up," I shoved him playfully and laughed, "I don't have time to do such silly things."_

"_No? I suppose you'll be too busy with practice. Next time I see you you'll probably be on the first string of the Atlantican team," Seth smiled, "don't think that I'm going to play easy just because you're my girlfriend!"_

"_So, I'm not going to see you for another whole year?" I can't help but to be disappointed. _

_He shrugged, "that's the way it always is."_

_There was a pause, a moment of silence. He wrapped his strong, muscular arms around my waist, and pulled me close to him. I rest my head on his shoulder, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. I wished he didn't have to go, that we could leave the station together and stay together. _

"_Don't you look at me with them sad eyes, little lady," he whispered in my ear, knowing that we were both thinking the same thing, "this is just the way it has to be." _

_He kissed me, his lips soft against mine, and stroked my hair, as the station master calls over the chaos again to tell everyone they need to board. _

"_Go on then, get out of here," I elbowed him in the ribs with a rueful smile, "There had better not be some other girl's kisses on your lips next time I kiss you!"_

"_Another girl? Don't be ridiculous," he laughed, as the rest of his sentence was cut off by the station master declaring that this was the last call for all passengers needed to board. _

"_You write to me as soon as you arrive," I threw my arms around him tightly and kissed both of his cheeks. _

"_Of course, same as always," he promised, and kissed my forehead, "here's looking at you, kid." _

_He swam away and disappeared into the crowd, and that was the last I saw of him. I hugged my arms around myself and closed my eyes tightly, before leaving the station and going home. _

I should have made him stay. I should have grabbed his arms, told him that he would regret it. If only I had of known what would happen if he left… I rubbed my eyes, determined not to cry.

'_Just go to sleep,'_ I told myself, _'just go to sleep, and maybe tomorrow, things will be better.'_

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews and messages! Keep them coming, I love hearing from you guys! And whoever can tell me what line in this story comes from a famous movie (other than the Little Mermaid, of course) gets a virtual high-five and a mention in the next chapter! **


	4. A New Home, A New Life

**A New Home, A New Life**

(Alana POV)

After a short honeymoon at a tropical resort down south, Academicus and I had returned to the castle a week ago, as husband and wife ready to begin our life together. We had our own wing in the palace that Daddy and my sisters had set up for us while we were away, just a little apartment for newlyweds or a little family. Who knew, perhaps we might have our own little family here, the kind of little family in daydreams. Academicus could continue working in the castle, I could spend time with my sisters whenever I liked, and there was certainly enough room for a little child or two to explore and have a million adventures. There had been enough room for my sisters and me to have at least a million adventures each. With six sisters, I couldn't imagine ever wanting to expand my family any further. Maybe just a little family. Poseidon knows this castle was already crowded enough as it was.

Light filtered through the ocean as dawn broke, casting pretty patterns on the room through the floral crocheted seaweed curtains. I had spent the last couple of days devotedly decorating our little apartment, making sure everything was just perfect, as Academicus was so busy catching up on the work he missed while he was away. I lay next to my new husband now, watching the light dance across his sleeping figure. There was something extraordinary about him, something unlike anyone else I had ever seen. His jet-black silky hair brushed his shoulders, swirling around his face in the water. His dark, flashing, almond-shaped eyes were closed; his lips were slightly open as he breathed in and out peacefully in his sleep. He was one of the rare merfolk with a multi-coloured tail, white with a black tip. He was so perfectly handsome, with his olive-coloured skin and lean frame. So very perfect… like he was something out of a dream. His long dark eyelashes fluttered, and he yawned, stretching out on the bed. He mumbled to himself for a minute, blinking around at the room. He smiled up at me sleepily, and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Morning, Lanie," he murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning, darling," I leant down and kissed his lips gently. He sat up next to me, running his fingers through his hair.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost seven," I replied. He groaned, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"What a wonderful morning to waste upon an early meeting," he murmured, pulling a face.

"Well, you ought to blow it off and stay here with me," I suggested, wrapping my tail around his. He laughed, and kissed my neck affectionately.

"I would if I could… Oh, Poseidon, I wish I could," he sighed, "but, I simply cannot. We're preparing for the mid-year meeting with the King this afternoon. The Lord Treasurer has asked me to act as his assistant. Perhaps if I perform well I might be promoted."

"I suppose if you must, darling," I sighed, stroking his cheek. If only he wasn't so devoted to his job... but then, perhaps his passionate devoted to his work was part of his charm.

"Believe me, Lanie, if there was any way I could skip work today, I wouldn't have even brought it up," Academicus assured me, "if I could lie here with you forever, I would be contented for my whole life. You do realise how much I devotedly adore you?"

"Of course. You're terribly poetic this morning," I murmured with a laugh.

"I'm terribly poetic every morning," Academicus teased me, kissing both my cheeks lightly. With a disappointed groan, he climbed out of bed and swam off into the bathroom. I climbed out of bed and swam over to the balcony. Everything here was so beautiful, so terribly perfect. I sighed, leaning forward, twisting my fingers through my curls. What a beautiful city we lived in, with everyone just starting their day with the light coming through waves and shining down onto all of us. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful… there was nothing that I loved more. Certainly, nothing could spoil this perfect day.

"Lanie, there is something I need to tell you," Academicus declared suddenly as he swum back into the room.

"What is it, darling?" I looked up, swimming out from behind the curtain. He frozen for a moment, biting his lower lip, transfixed on me.

"Poseidon, you're beautiful…" he paused, and seemed to forget what he was going to say.

"Darling, you're pretty gorgeous yourself," I giggled as I swam over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His dark, shining eyes fixed onto my eyes, and he kissed me, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me close to him.

"Was that all you had to tell me?" I teased him, running my fingers through his hair.

"Oh, no… it's difficult to explain…" he began, but seemed unable to continue, "well, not difficult to explain, exactly, but difficult to say…"

I tilted my head to the side, wondering what on earth he was talking about, or at least trying to talk about. The bells outside chimed, seven o'clock.

"I'm going to be late," he remarked, with a frown, "but I so wanted to talk to you as soon as we got home, and we've already been back a week. Well, actually, I wanted to tell you once we got engaged, then just after we got married, then while we were on our honeymoon… oh, Lanie-"

"Oh, darling, certainly one more day won't make much of a difference. You shouldn't keep the Lord Treasurer waiting. We've got time. We're going to spend forever together," I reminded him gently.

"Forever?" Academicus repeated.

"Forever," I promised. He half-smiled, and kissed me once more.

"I guess it can wait. I'll be back around five," he kissed me lightly, and swam from the room. I swam back down onto the bed and snuggled down under the blankets. We could have a perfect, fairy-tale life here: we could have a little baby and not much to worry about at all. I had never much thought about having a family before, but perhaps I might like to have a pretty little baby here in my pretty little apartment with Academicus. I might like to be a mother, have a tiny little baby to kiss and play with tiny little hands and a tiny little tail. A little baby to push around in a baby carriage, with its first words and first little swim. A little child to chase around the castle, to read stories to, to dress up, and tuck in to bed every night. It would be so lovely, just like living happily ever after.

I went into my dressing room, and sat down at my vanity, and started applying my makeup, but paused for a moment. Was I even going to leave my apartment today? I mean, none of my sisters were even around the castle. Attina was down at her little village school, her pet charity project. Aquata was at finball practice. She had been devoted to every kind of sporting team she could get her fins onto for the past year, with no time for anything else. Adella and Andrina went down to Eel-Ectric City with a couple of their friends for a couple of days. Arista and Leo had gone out of town to see Leo's family. And Ariel... well, Poseidon knows where Ariel was. It had been so weird without her here. Just sitting down at dinner now, and looking at her empty seat, waiting for her to hurry in at the last minute running her fingers through her red hair and bragging about whatever crazy adventure she had been on. But now, it was different. She didn't turn up to dinner anymore. My friends were either our partying or tending to grubby little merbabies. My best friend, Pearl, had moved up to Eel-Ectric City permanently. Pearl had been the coolest mermaid in Atlantica, the goddess of what's splashing and what's not happening. It was so quiet around here without her turning up to invite me to come out shopping or to come to a wild party. But even if she did turn up today, would I even what to go out to party with her when I could stay home with Academicus? Perhaps I wasn't the same Alana from Pearl-and-Alana, the epitome of glamour and style. A new kind of Alana.

**A/N: How many of you have seen episodes from the Little Mermaid series? The character of Pearl is from the series, which I would highly recommend. A couple more characters from the series will be cropping up over this story. Is there anyone from the series or movies that you want to see? **

**And my darlings, not one of you picked up the line from another movie in the last chapter! I won't say it for couple more chapters, but then I'll tell you what the line and what the movie is. Would you like a hint? **


	5. The Oldest and the Youngest

**The Oldest and the Youngest**

(Attina POV)

I swam into the dining room; my head still full of the strange things the little children had been telling me when I visited the school that morning. Children come out with the most peculiar things! I swam over to the dining table, where Urchin was already sitting at the table, waiting eagerly for dinner. He was late for almost everything else, but never a meal! The boy's hunger was never satisfied, Daddy fondly proclaiming that he was "bulking up". Certainly he had grown a lot since we first met that scrawny little orphan a year and a half ago, he was more like a normal teenage boy rather than a raggedy child. The tan-skinned boy, with his floppy blonde hair and an olive-green tail, had become like a brother to my sisters and the son that Daddy had never had. Now, with Ariel gone… well, Urchin was still here, getting up to all the trouble Ariel ought to be getting into.

"Oh, Urchin, you're such a mess! How do you ever manage to get so scruffy?" I exclaimed, and began combing through his hair with my fingers, trying to get him to look presentable.

"Attina!" Urchin whined, struggled against my grooming.

"Urch, come on," I pleaded with him in my best patient motherly tone, the one reserved for disobedient sisters and students.

"_Attina!" Ariel moaned, as I began brushing her hair and tying it up into a ponytail with a gold jewelled hairband. _

"_I honestly don't know how you manage to always get into so much trouble, Ariel!" I complained, giving her hair one final brush. _

"_Believe me, Attina, I don't either!" Ariel insisted, "It just… happens?" _

"_Mmhmm," I rolled my eyes, "don't start with me, Ariel. How can one mermaid create so much trouble anyway?" _

_She's just a teenage girl, too young and naïve to go out into the big blue ocean on her own. Perhaps I should have held on a little tighter, instead of letting her tear the hairband from her hair and swim away giggling. I should have-_

"Attina!" Urchin exclaimed, tearing me out from my thoughts, "Attina, you're pulling out my hair!"

"Oh! Sorry, Urch, I was distracted," I apologized, and kissed his head lightly before sitting down next to him, "What on earth did you get up to today anyway?"

"I dunno… just sitting around my room," Urchin replied moodily, "When's dinner?"

"Not for like, an hour. Besides, you just had a sea sponge pizza a couple of hours ago," I told him, rolling my eyes.

"I'm hungry now!" he complained, "Can't we hurry up dinner to now?"

"Don't be so impatient!" I sighed, scolding with my many years of experience, "you'll get dinner as soon as Daddy gets here. Honestly, Ariel, why are you always-"

"Ariel? Attina, not again! Stop it!" Urchin exclaimed, "I'm not Ariel! Ariel's gone! Stop pretending that I'm Ariel!"

I froze, and blinked at him several times, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Had I called him Ariel? I didn't think so… I hadn't even let myself think about Ariel since she had run off with her human prince. Urchin's face had become very strange, wide-eyed and fearsome.

"Oh, don't cry, Attina," Urchin whispered, biting his lip, "I'm sorry. Please stop crying."

I had to raise my hand to my eyes before I realised that I was crying. My shoulders began shaking, and I let out a strangled noise before I started to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh, Urch, don't be sorry… don't be sorry," I swam over to him and hugged him tightly, "oh, don't be sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

He hugged me back as I cried, unable to stop myself. Poseidon, I missed my little sister. I didn't want to think about it, but I missed her so much it was killing me. I mean, I was the oldest, and after Mother had died and we were all on our own, I had taken care of them. And Ariel was the _baby_, the little one; she was almost my own child! I cried my heart out until there were no more tears left in me and the crying subdued enough for me to breathe again. I tried to compose myself, and noticed that Urchin was crying as well, as he clung to me.

"Hey, don't you go crying too," I gently admonished him, stroking his soft scraggly hair.

"I just hate her so much!" Urchin murmured, "I hate her for doing this to us, I hate her for going, I hate her for leaving us, I hate her for not saying goodbye, I hate her for everything. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, and I hope she never comes back!"

"Oh, sweetie, I know it's tough," I murmured sympathetically, "but you don't really _hate_ her. You're just angry at her. We all are."

"You're angry at her too?" Urchin asked, looking up at me in surprise, "what about?"

"Oh, I'm angry at her for so many things! Oh, angelfish, everyone is so angry and hurt at her for what's she's done. I'm angry with her about everything. I'm angry she didn't come talk to us about going to see the human ship or after her fight with Daddy. I'm angry that she decided to make a deal with a sea witch without even talking about it with anyone! I'm angry she didn't think to ask us about what to do about falling in love with a human or ask us to help her while she on land. I'm angry that after the battle, she went back to see that human instead of coming back to us. I'm angry she didn't even consider that we were sick with worry and that we would have done anything to see her just for one second. I'm angry that she didn't say goodbye, and all we got was a wave from a ship, no kiss, no hug, no explanation for the last three days, not anything at all. I'm angry she left us, the people who love her more than anything in the whole ocean, for someone she doesn't even know. I'm angry that you, me, Daddy, Alana, Aquata, Adella, Arista, Andrina, Flounder, and everyone that she had ever known were worth less to her than one man," I sighed, "But most of all, I'm angry that she's not coming back. I'm so angry that I'm never going to kiss her again, or hug her again, or give her a good smack for scaring the seven seas out of us. We can't fight with her and we can't make up with her anymore. We're never going to be able to tell her how upset she's made us, or how much we love her or tell her anything ever again. I'm very angry at her, Urchin. But I don't hate her. I still love her, because she's my sister. And you love her too, even if you are furious at her now."

Urchin sighed, "I guess you're right. When is it going to go away?"

"Give it time," I reassured him, "we'll get through this together. We'll be alright."

"It is hard. She's just… gone, you know? And with Gabriella…" Urchin just shrugged, not wanting to say anything more. He didn't have to. Gabriella was a mute girl who had been befriended by Ariel and her friends. For the last year, Ariel, Flounder, Gabriella, and Urchin (often under the watchful eye of Sebastian) had been getting up to all sorts of mischief together, and had been the best of friends. The day Ariel vanished; we found out that Gabriella, Ollie (her interpreter) and Flounder were missing too. For a while we thought they had gone off on an adventure together, maybe following a whale migration together or exploring some long forgotten cave. But then… they found Gabriella and Ollie. When we heard what had happened to them, we were heartbroken. They had been messing around, exploring a sunken human ship when a shark came. As the shark tried to get into the ship to attack them, it collapsed on top of them, and they were killed. There was no sign of Ariel or Flounder. Everyone had though that the shark had gotten them both. Everyone lost hope of ever seeing them alive again. Daddy called off the search party, and the kingdom went into mourning. It was terrible, having to think about our little baby sister who had gone on one adventure too many. But while we were planning her funeral, she was planning her wedding. Did Ariel even know about what happened to her best friend? Did she even care?

"How are you holding up with all that, Urch?" I asked, "you've been so quiet about it. You know, if you need anyone to talk to, everyone is here for you."

"Yeah… I just think it's ironic that all Gabriella wished for was a voice and Ariel traded hers without a second thought," Urchin tried to make a joke, but his voice broke when he said Gabriella's name, "I'm just really lonely now, you know? Gabriella was my best friend and Ariel was my almost-sister. And now… I'm all alone. I don't think I've been this lonely since my parents died."

"Oh, angelfish," I hugged him tightly again, "oh, darling, you don't have to be lonely ever again. You are an important part of our family now, and don't you ever forget it."

"You mean it?" Urchin half-smiled at that.

"Absolutely," I kissed his forehead, "What's Flounder been up to since Ariel left?"

"I don't really know… I haven't seen them much since she left," Urchin shrugged, "why?"

"Why don't you invite him over tomorrow? Come on, we'll all spend the day together! You, me, Alana, Aquata, Adella, Arista, Andrina, Academicus, Flounder," I suggested, "Now that Ariel's gone we all have to stick together, all of us. And we'll be alright, you'll see. We'll be alright."

We'll be alright. Maybe if I said it enough, it would be true.

**A/N: I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with uploading chapters too quickly! But I finished this one pretty fast and I thought you might like it! And I'll give you a hint for the quote in Chapter 3: it's from the movie, Casablanca. Can you guess what the line was? **


	6. A Grandchild Fit For A King

**A Grandchild Fit For A King**

(Urchin POV)

I poked at my breakfast, twisting the kelp around my fork. Flounder, Attina, Alana, Aquata, Adella, Arista, Andrina, Academicus, and Leomaris were all sitting at the dining table in the palace, quietly chatting and making plans for the day. For the last couple of weeks, we had all been spending a lot of time together. None of us talked about Ariel at all, we all pretended that nothing has happened at all. Attina was pouring over paperwork for her school, with a slight frown on her face. Alana and Academicus were almost sitting on each other's laps, exchanging Significant Looks with each other, Alana looking delighted and Academicus looking ill. Aquata looked like she was on the verge of tears, clutching a little gold seashell locket in her hand. Adella was looking wistfully off into the distance, twisting her ponytail around her finger thoughtfully. Arista and Leomaris had announced their engagement two weeks ago. Leomaris would have had no trouble braving King Triton, with his muscles made of bronze and cool, calm matter-of-fact manner. Andrina was glowering into her cereal; she had just broken up with Paio again yesterday. Flounder was chewing on some coral, lost in his own thoughts. We all had a lot on our mind, even though we were pretending like there was nothing wrong in the ocean at all. Flounder and I hadn't talked about Ariel, Gabriella, or Ollie at all. I didn't even know if I wanted to talk to him, after all. _He_ had been with Ariel. She had cared about him enough to take him with her. I had been left behind, thinking that all of my friends went off on an adventure without me and then thinking that they had all died. Why didn't Flounder come and get me? Why didn't he think I could help, or that I needed to know that he and Ariel were all still alive?

"So, what should we do today?" Attina chirped as she set aside her papers, reminding us all that we had to be bright and merry and not think about Ariel.

"We could go down to Eel-Ectric City?" Adella offered, "I met the cutest merboy down there the other week, he was so, so gorgeous!"

"Oh, I don't think we should leave the city… or palace," Alana bit her lower lip, and shrugged nonchalantly. Alana had been so weird lately, zealous and anxious at the same time.

"You don't want to leave the palace?" Attina asked, frowning, "are you feeling okay?"

"Sure! I'm fine!" Alana insisted, "I just don't feel much like going out."

"Why don't we go to the markets?" Arista suggested.

"We just went down to the markets yesterday," Aquata reminded her. We were silent; no one dared to suggest what we were all thinking. If Ariel was here, she would suggest going on an adventure, with a wicked glint in her eyes. I looked up at Flounder, but didn't say anything. It was just the two of us left, no more Gabriella, Ollie, and Ariel. No more adventures, no more wild times, no more fun.

"I guess we all could just hang out around the palace…" Attina bit her lip worriedly. Hanging out around the palace meant there wouldn't be an endless stream of activity to distract us from our losses.

"Oh, I just need to pop up to my room for a minute," Alana suddenly announced, grabbing her husband's arm and swimming up from the table, "Why don't you all come up with us? We can decide what to do when we get there! It'll be fun!"

"Uh… alright?" Attina agreed with a confused shrug at the rest of us. What on earth was going on with Alana? She had been acting so odd for the last week… We all swam up to Alana and Academicus's wing, wondering what was going on.

"Come on in," Alana practically pushed us all into the little apartment, laughing delightedly. Feeling quite unnerved, I looked around the room for some kind of clue for what was making Alana be so weird.

"Alana," Attina spun around to face the next eldest sister, "What's going on?"

Alana shrugged coyly, and started singing sweetly, "_We're having a baby, my baby and me!_

_You'll read it in magazines… that we're adding a limb to our family tree,_

_We're pushing our carriage… How proud I will be!_

_There's nothing like marriage ask your mother and father and they'll agree,_

_Our future gets brighter, but definitely,_

_We're having a baby,_

_We're having a baby,_

_We're having a baby,_

_My baby and me!"_

Alana swam into the bedroom, and sat down on the edge of the bed. A bassinette was sitting at the end of the bed, decorated lovingly with sea flowers, coral and kelp. A tiny little egg was resting in the middle, deep jewel-tone purple and black.

"Oh my goodness!" Attina threw her arms around Alana, and all of the girls started squealing together.

Well, all except Arista, who still seemed confused and asked, "I still don't get it, what's going on?"

"Kelp-brains!" Andrina elbowed her in her arms, "Alana's having a baby!"

"A baby!" Arista squealed, "oh my goodness, where is it?"

"Uh… there," Alana pointed to the tiny little egg, "that's my baby!"

"Oh, how precious," Aquata cooed, and we all gathered around the bassinette. I lay on my stomach on the bed, next to Alana, looking at the tiny little egg. It was smaller than the palm of my hand, and glittering in the morning light.

"Congratulations," Leomaris laughed, clapping Academicus on the shoulder, "How are you feeling?"

"Yes. Good. Overwhelming," Academicus offered the Duke a small tight smile, "Overwhelmed, indeed."

"So, what do you reckon, boy or girl?" Aquata asked.

"No one knows until it hatches," Academicus shrugged.

"Oh, you must be thrilled!" Adella giggled, "You're going to be a mother, and Academicus is going to be a father… Daddy's going to be a grandfather!"

"Oh my Poseidon, have you told Daddy yet?" Arista asked.

"Have you told Daddy what?" the King boomed, from the doorway of Alana and Academicus's bedroom.

"Daddy!" Alana exclaimed, and everyone turned to stare at the King, gathering around the bassinette protectively. How would the King react to becoming a grandfather for the first time? He had taken the engagements of Alana and Arista, he had been alright at Alana's wedding… but being a grandfather was a whole other fin-ball game.

"He has impeccable timing," Leomaris murmured to Academicus.

"No one was down at breakfast," the King announced as he swam into the room, "I heard you had all come up here. What's going on?"

Alana and Academicus exchanged a look, and Alana swam over to the King.

"We're having a baby," Alana said slowly, "Academicus and me."

"You're having a baby?" the King repeated softly. She nodded.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Alana asked, touching his arm gently.

"Oh, Lanie!" the King swept Alana up into a big hug, laughing delightedly, "oh, darling, I'm so happy for you! Where is it?"

Alana swam over to the bassinette, and picked up the little black and purple egg, and offered it to the King. He held the little egg in his hand, close to his chest. The egg was even smaller than the King's pinky finger, and he looked down at it as though it were made of gold or diamonds or something even more precious. And perhaps, inside the tiny shining egg, there was something entirely more precious than gold and diamonds.

**A/N: The song in this chapter is a modified, abridged version of "We're Having a Baby (My Baby and Me)" by Desi Arnez. What do you think about the baby? The quote in Chapter 3: **

"**Here's looking at you, kid." – Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca. **


	7. The First Grandchild Hatches

**The First Grandchild Hatches**

(Adella POV)

In the next couple of months, Alana's little egg grew little by little until it was singing soft and sweet melody. A singing little egg meant that it was close to hatching. The whole kingdom was abuzz with the news of the King's first grandchild. No one had been this excited since music came back, it was mad! Everyone was so excited, as if they were all having their first grandchild too. Arista and Leomaris had been married a few months ago, and already had a little yellow and green egg in their nursery. Oh, how lovely would it be if the whole palace was full of children again, like it had been when Mother was alive! Perhaps we could fill with void of Ariel with nieces and nephews, and we could somehow get back all of the hugs and laughter she was denying us of. How could anyone be unhappy with two nieces or two nephews or one of each?

"Della?"

Zale swam into the dining room and sat down next to me, "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well, here I am!" I laughed, and kissed his cheek. I had met one of Leomaris's cousins, the Marquis of Carabaqua. We had immediately hit it off, what wasn't there to love about him? He lived in the very north of the kingdom, by the Arctic Republic. He seemed almost as if he were made of ice and seemed to be always perfectly polished, with his white ashy blonde hair and his white shimmering tail, and pale, peachy skin. And yet, beneath his icy surface, he was so warm and cuddly.

"What's up?" he asked, instinctively knowing something was quite wrong.

"Oh, nothing," I insisted.

He just shook his head, "Something is wrong."

"I was just thinking… well, Ariel loved children," I told him. He nodded, and I didn't need to say anything more.

"You still think about her?" Zale asked softly.

"Not always," I replied, "I try not to, at least. But it's hard sometimes, and with the eggs hatching soon, and the weddings. She's our baby sister. I do miss her."

"Do you know where she is now?" Zale asked.

I paused, "No. I have no idea where she is now."

He put his arms around me, and hugged me tightly. I pressed my forehead to his shoulder, swallowing my tears. Ariel would have loved to have been here for this, getting ready to be the first bad influence on these two little merfolk just about to join our family. How could I help myself? I had to think about our missing sister at a time like this. Did she ever think about us? Did she ever wonder what was going on with us, like how we had all wondered about her?

"Your Highness?"

"Yes?" Zale and I said together, turning around. A small seahorse was at the door, dressed in official court garb.

"The Marquis of Carabaqua is requested in the Treasury," The seahorse announced, bowing deeply.

"I should go then. But hey, you, me, dinner, tonight. Alright?" Zale kissed me goodbye.

"See you then," I agreed, with a little smile. He swam from the room with the seahorse, leaving me alone with my thoughts. What was she doing right now? Where was she right now? We had only seen her sail away on a boat; we had no idea what port it had gone to. She could be anywhere in the world, she could be dead and we would have no idea. Urchin, Andrina, and Attina swam into the dining room together, and sat down around the table. We all had the same look on our face- the Ariel face.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Attina asked with false brightness, trying to snap us out of our thoughts.

"Oh, stop it, Attina. Why don't you just let us be miserable and think about Ariel?" Andrina retorted. We all stared at her in stunned silence. We hadn't talked about Ariel in months, we weren't even meant to think about her anymore. Some unspoken rule made us pretend Ariel had never existed.

"Why should we reopen a wound that has just started to heal?" Attina protested.

"It's not healing! Nothing's getting any better!" Andrina snapped.

"What could anyone possibly say to make it better?" Urchin said softly. We were all silent. There was nothing anyone could say to make it better. Sebastian swam into the room, and sat down on the table, surveying each of our faces.

"Hey, why the long faces, mon?" Sebastian asked, looking at us all worriedly.

"Ariel," we all sighed in one voice.

Sebastian was silent for a moment, "You missing her a lot?"

"How could we not?" Urchin exclaimed.

"She's just… gone. She's just vanished. We have no idea where she is or what she is now," I explained, "If we could just see her again, just for a minute or two…"

"You know where she is, don't you, Sebastian?" Urchin suddenly turned onto the small red crab.

"Me?" Sebastian squeaked.

"You went with her, didn't you?" Andrina pointed out, "You must know where she is! You could take us there!"

"You really want to go see her?" Sebastian asked nervously.

"Yes!" Andrina, Urchin, and I all said at once.

Sebastian sighed, "I suppose I could take you up dere."

Aquata and Arista swam into the room like bolts of lightning, breathless and excited.

"The baby's hatching!" Aquata announced, "Come on!"

"What?" Attina exclaimed, "Now?"

"Yes! Hurry up!" Arista squealed, and we swam off together. Up and up into the castle, up to Alana and Academicus's apartment. The little egg's singing was almost exactly like ours, which meant it was going to hatch any minute now. A doctor and two midwives were sitting with the expecting mother, father, and grandfather on the edge of their bed, watching the egg carefully. We all stood around the edge of the room, watching the little egg expectantly. Our first little niece or nephew! The first crack appeared in the shell, as it rocked around a little bit in the bassinet. Another crack formed, and the tiny merbaby forced its way out of the egg, singing even louder than before. The doctor swept down and picked up the hatchling, and examined it carefully. We all watched with bated breath as he tested its little tail and counted the tiny fingers.

"It's a healthy, perfect, lovely, little boy," the doctor announced, handing the newborn to Alana. The tiny baby had a downturned crescent moon on his forehead, indicating his gender, soft downy black curls, and a deep purple tail.

"He's so beautiful!" Alana whispered breathlessly, looking down at the little merman adoringly, "Oh; isn't he the most darling little thing you ever saw?"

"He's precious," Academicus agreed softly.

"I'm just so happy!" Alana laughed delighted, "Oh, nothing in the world could ruin this day!"

"Well, we'll see about that, won't we angelfish?"

We all looked up to see the source of the sinister voice, and gasped.

**A/N: Oooh! We're coming to the end of this story, with only a couple more chapters to go! Hopefully the story will be done in a couple of weeks. **


	8. Academicus's Secret

**Academicus's Secret**

(Attina POV)

"Well, we'll see about that, won't we angelfish?"

We all looked up to see the source of the sinister voice, and gasped. Standing at the doorframe, the figure lurked in the shadows with a smirk on her face, revealing sharp, pointed, yellowing teeth. She was dressed from neck to tail in fish scales and fishnet.

"Who are you?" Alana demanded, though her sentence ended in a whimper, as she hugged her newborn child closer to her chest.

"Who am I? Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself!" the mermaid laughed loudly, cutting through the horrified silence of the room like a knife, "I am called Kendra, the-"

"The sea witch from Pacifica," Aquata cut her off, wide-eyed with horror.

"Sea witch? I prefer, oceanic enchantress," the sea witch winked. Aquata just stared at her, as though the sea witch had clawed one of her long black fingernails into her heart.

"What are you doing here?" Daddy demanded in a low growl. The sea witch looked up with wide eyed, mock innocently, and then smiled oh-so-sweetly.

"I just came here to talk to an old, dear friend," Kendra sighed, swimming over to sit next to Academicus.

"We're not friends," Academicus snarled, though his cheeks flushed red and his eyes darted around the room nervously. The Pacifica sea witch, an old friend of Academicus? The idea itself was so absurd, Alana's quiet nervous husband even knowing such a horrid woman… and yet he looked so guilty.

"Oh, don't be so cold, sweetie. Why don't you introduce me to your friends? Is this the little princess here, the one you spoke so terribly fondly of?" Kendra purred, wrapping an arm around Academicus's shoulder. He shrugged away from her, shrinking back towards Alana, positioning his body between her and the sea witch defensively.

The sea witch dismissed his strange demeanor with an offhanded shrug, "I've come to a decision about your payment, angelfish, and then I'll be on my way."

"Payment?" Alana repeated, who seemed to be putting together pieces of a very strange puzzle in her mind, "Darling, what's going on?"

Academicus glanced at his wife, his mouth forming several silent words, before biting his lower lip and turning back to the witch, "Do we have to discuss this here?"

"Oh, _darling_, I think this is the perfect place," the sea witch laughed devilishly, "We had a deal, fish-lips. Now, are you going to pay up?"

"What do you want?" Academicus frowned.

"I want the child," the sea witch said nonchalantly. Everyone in the room gasped as one, horrified. Take away our little nephew? He had just hatched, not five minutes ago. How could they take this precious little babe in his mother's arms away from her loving touch, with his soft dark curls and violet tail?

"The child? No! Poseidon almighty! Anything but the child," Academicus pleaded; his voice hoarse and panicked. His eyes darted between Alana, his newborn son, and the sea witch, trying desperately to think of a plan to protect his little family.

"Oh, no, no, no, angelfish, I don't _want_ anything but the baby. A deal's a deal, and you said you'd give me _anything_. So, hand over the little brat and I'll be on my way," Kendra's sunny, bubbly attitude suddenly dropped, and she cold as ice. She folded her arms across her chest, and held out her hand expectantly.

"You can't have him," Academicus stood up and glowered down at her, "he's my son. He's staying here with his family- my family."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a son to begin with," the sea witch snarled, "Don't forget where you came from, brat. These people aren't your family! They don't love _you_; they love what _I_ made _you_! Don't you _dare_ forget what they are like! You've gotten so caught up in your lies you've forgotten that you don't really belong here, you're just a-"

"Stop it!" Alana cried out, cutting off Kendra's rant, "Don't you speak like that to him you ghastly old witch!"

The sea witch glanced at Alana, the playful smile returning to her face, "So, this is the pretty little Atlantican princess, is it? My, my, my! You were right, angelfish, she really is the loveliest thing Poseidon put in the seven seas. What a pity your pretty little fairytale is all just a sham, and the story is just at its end! Oh, isn't it exciting, little Princess Alana? Aren't you just waiting on the edge of your seat? For who is this merman you married, if you even can still call him that! Oh, if only you knew what terrible monster was hiding beneath this pretty little face!"

Alana looked back and forth between the witch and her husband, silently pleading with Academicus to tell her what Kendra was laughing about. But Academicus was silent as the grave, still looking around the room furiously for a way out of this mess.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alana finally said defiantly.

"You really don't have a clue, do you, Princess? My, my, he is a terrible man, isn't he?" Kendra turned back to Academicus, "One last chance, fish-lips. Hand over the baby, or the deal is off."

"You can't have him," Academicus said sternly, before adding in a much quieter, frightened voice, "Do whatever you will with my life. But don't touch the child."

"It's a pity you weren't more… obedient," Kendra hissed, "but, I assure you, my dear, I will do whatever I please with your life… and with this little family you've created."

And with that, the whole room was suddenly filled with inky darkness, and the cries of a distressed newborn. When the water cleared, the sea witch, Alana, Academicus, and the baby were gone.

Daddy wasted no time in raising up the armies, with orders to scour every inch of the sea until they found the little family. No one in the kingdom was permitted to rest until the three missing merfolk were returned, safe and sound. I spent most of the night in a daze, drifting around unsure of what to do or what to think. None of us mentioned what their disappearance brought back horrible memories of a little red-haired sister who had disappeared all too suddenly as well. I sighed, leaning against one of the castle balconies, looking out into the ocean. Oh, Ariel! Why aren't you here? You know more about sea witches than I do… What if Alana never came back like Ariel? What if we all just were taken away one by one, until there was only one left, all alone?

"Oh, Academicus, what have you done?" I demanded to no one in particular, staring out at the endless ocean. What kind of deal did he have with the sea witch anyway? Her words swam around in my mind;

"_If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a son to begin with. Don't forget where you came from, brat. These people aren't your family! They don't love you; they love what I made you! Don't you dare forget what they are like! You've gotten so caught up in your lies you've forgotten that you don't really belong here, you're just a-" _

"_What a pity your pretty little fairytale is all just a sham, and the story is just at its end! Oh, isn't it exciting, little Princess Alana? Aren't you just waiting on the edge of your seat? For who is this merman you married, if you even can still call him that! Oh, if only you knew what terrible monster was hiding beneath this pretty little face!"_

No matter how many times I repeated her little taunts in my mind, I couldn't make sense of them. Exhausted, and with no news or any idea of where Alana, Academicus, and the baby could be, Arista and Leo were the first to retire their room to tend to their little egg. I vaguely recalled one of my sisters grabbing my arm and leading me back to our little room. Three down, four to go. Adella and Andrina both curled up in Andrina's bed, hugging each other closely with tightly closed eyes.

"Della…" Andrina's voice was barely a whisper, soft and terrified.

Adella pressed her forehead against Andrina's, "I know. I know."

Aquata stood at the door, her arms folded, staring into space. Aquata. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I swam at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out into the hallway.

"What?" she hissed, raising her eyebrow.

"How did you know who Kendra was?" I demanded in a low voice.

She paused, unsure of what to say, "She's the sea witch from Pacifica. She's the one who killed my…"

Her voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. The sea witch who killed Seth. Of course.

"Aquata, do you know where she is?" I pressed her, "do you know where her cavern is?"

Aquata started to shake her head then paused, "No. But I do know someone who does."

I glanced back into the bedroom, "Adella. Andrina. Take care of each other, alright?"

Without saying anything, we all met in the center of the room and hugged each other tightly, forcing ourselves not to cry. Who knew when we would ever see each other again, or even if we would see each other again?

"I love you all so very much," I whispered, and was answered with a chorus of assuring 'I love you too's from my little sisters. One of the hardest things I ever did in my whole life was tear myself away from them, and remain calm and tearless.

"Come on, Aquata, we need to go talk to Daddy," I grabbed her arm. We swam from the room as quickly as we could. I could have sworn I heard Adella's choked little sob as I darted down the hallway, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. There would be time for tears later. Now, there was only time for action.

**A/N: Thank you so much for your continued support everyone! I know the updates are pretty slow at the moment, but I've been so busy with assignments and work and such that I've got little energy for anything else. But I haven't forgotten about my stories, and I'm so grateful for every review you've given me. As always, I encourage you to review and tell me what I should improve/anything confusing or that you want clarified/anything you would like included/anything in the world you would like to say. I'd love to hear from you!**


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